The Church of St. Mary at Stafford
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\ VIEWS OF , THE CHURCH OF ST. MARY AT STAFFORD. BY THE LATE JOHN MASFEN, JUN. WITH in irronnt of it0 1Rr0torlltion, AND MA T ER I A L S FOR ITS HIS TOR Y. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY JOHN HENRY PARKER, 377, STRAND. MDCCCLII. PRINTED BY DAY AND SON, LITHOGRAPHERS TO THE QUEEN, 17, GATE STREET, LlNCOLN'S-INN-FIELDS, LONDON. TO J E S SEW A T T S R U S S ELL, ESQ. THE MUNIFICENT ORIGINATOR OF THE RESTORATION OF THE CHURCH OF ST. MARY A '1' STAFFORD, AND TO THE NOBILITY, CLERGY, GENTRY, AND OTHER CONTRIBUTORS, W I-I 0 S 0 C I-I E E R :F U L L Y RES P 0 N D E D T 0 I-I I seA L L, ~gi£i 3l1rmorinl OF THE COMPLETE SUCCESS OF THEIR PIOUS UNDERTAKING lIs respectfttl1!1 ]Bcllicateb', IN THE NAME OF THE LATE JOHN MASFEN, JUN. BY HIS MOTHER. B .f P R E F ACE. As the circumstances under which this volume is presented to the public are only known to the friends of its deceased author, it may be well, as an apology for its many defects, which will be but too apparent, to state what those circumstances are. The late John Masfen, jun., a self-taught and juvenile artist, conceived the idea that he would, with the proceeds of his pencil, assist in decorating the mother church of his native town, by appropriating them to the purchase of a painted window, and to that end had commenced a series of Architectural Sketches illustrative of its beauties. Before his work was complete, death put an end to his pleasing' task; but it being well known to his family for what purpose the Sketches had been taken, they were placed in the hands of Mr. Day, and with his kind assistance, and the proffered and valuable aid of Mr. Scott, the Architect, it is hoped that an acceptable memento of the great achievement effected by the restoration of St. Mary's Church to its original magnificence, will be offered to the patrons of Church Architecture. During the progress of the work, many additions have been made to the original plan, as set forth in the prospectus, causing an increased expense, which will leave little or no surplus to carry out the wish and intention already expressed, unless by an increased sale. Under these circumstances, the fulfilment of the author's object must, it is feared, mainly depend on the kind interest which the subscribers and his friends may take in promoting its more extended circulation. The frontispiece represents a design intended to be placed in the single lancet window at the west end of the nave, should a fund sufficient for the purpose be realized. Stafford, May, 1852. HISTORICAL NOTICE S OF ST. MARY'S CHURCH, ST AFFORD: COLLECTED BY GEORGE BELLASIS MASFEN, AND HORACE MASFEN WRIGHT, ESQS. ARCHITECTURE, the comparison of its various styles, and the investigation of its progress and improve- ment, has in all ages been a subject of great interest and importance. The stern grandeur of the pyramids, the unapproached refinement of Grecian art, and the luxurious but less chaste magnificence of the Roman, all bear faithful record of the characters of the nations that gave them birth, and of their respective progress in civilization. The same truth IS strikingly illustrated by an examination into the different styles of church archi- tecture. The cathedrals of the Church of Rome, decorated in the most gorgeous manner with carving, bassi-relievi and marble pillars, accord well with the pomp and splendour of her ritual; while, on the other hand, the rude simplicity of the buildings for public worship erected by the Puritans of the time of Cromwell were in keeping, both in their external appearance, and in the want of internal decoration, with the stern and relentless character of their authors. Among English parish churches, we conceive it would be difficult to find one more fitting and appropriate for the worship of Almighty God than that of St. Mary at Stafford. The majestic beauty of form, the striking absence of constructional blemish, the harmonious combination of different periods, and the hoary aspect of antiquity, bearing .witness to the centuries during which it has fulfilled the sacred purpose of its erection, entitle this church to a pre-eminent rank among the ecclesiastical structures of our country. Diligent search has been made for historical records of St. Mary's Church, but it is to be regretted that no account of its foundation could be discovered, the documents which would have supplied the deficiency having, there is reason to believe, been destroyed at the time of the Reformation.* In the legend of St. Bettelinet allusion is made to Stafford; and its site is there described, as it seems, * The records of the Augmentation Office supply us with evidence of the existence of St. Mary's in the time of King John. They say,-" The College or Church Collegiate of Stafford was founded by King John, within the Church of St. Mary-at-Stafford, which is the Old or Mother Church of the whole town of Stafford." t The legend connecting St. Betteline with the town of Stafford has been reproduced in modern times from ancient sources by an anonymous hand, and is as follows:- " Where the town now stands, the river Sow formed in those times an island, which was called Bethney. Here St. Bettelin " stationed himself for some years, and led a life so holy, that the place, which profited by his miraculous gifts in his lifetime, grew into " a town under his patronage after his death. " A wild yet not u~pleasing fable is left us as a record of the saint's history in this retreat. He had concealed his name when he " took possession of the island; and on his father's death, who was king of those parts, the usurper of St. Bettelin's throne determined, "without knowing who he was, and from in-bred hatred as it appears of religion, to eject him from his island hermitage. The saint, c 8 HISTORICAL NOTICE OF at a time when it was encompassed by the waters of the River Sow. But we cannot place much confidence in this account, when we remember that Alban Butler regards that portion of the legend that relates to Stafford as little deserving of credit. According to Ingulfus, abbot of Croyland, the Saint Bertelline is said to have lived and died there. The writer of the "Lives of the English Saints" says, "A life of him " (St. Bettelline) has come down to us, which i~ attributed to Alexander, a prior of Canons Regular of " St. Augustine, in the beginning of the thirteenth century: but although this prior is well spoken of, little " credit can be placed in the letter of its statements." To this Prior Alexander, St. Bettelline appears to be indebted for his regal extraction. Felix, who was contemporary with St. Guthlake,* speaking of St. Bettelline previous to the commencement of his eremitical life, calls him merely "a certain clerk;" and though Felix adds, that to him the task of shaving St. Guthlake was confided, this fact alone would scarcely authorize our belief in St. Bettelin's high birth. We take our leave of this legend in the words of an authority: "Various writers speak of Bettelin, " Beccelin, Barthelin, or Bertelin; but whether he owned all these names at once, or whether but some of " them-whether a portion of his history belongs to another person, or whether it is altogether fabulous-is " not known." A miracle, consisting in the restoration of sight to a blind man, is also said by an anonymous writer, in an account appended to the history of St. Betteline by Prior Alexander, to have been performed, A.D. 1386, in the Church of St. Betteline in Stafford" We do not again find mention of this church till the sixteenth century, when this memorandum appears III the Corporation Books: "32 HenY' 8, Mr. Bailiff Horne and Wm. Peyke accted. for St. Bartram's Church, " 8th of Octr." Dugdale, treating of Stafford, says in his "Baronage," vo!. i. p. 161: "There was a Guild of " St. Bertelline,t with a church, wherein I find some buried, wh is the present school, corruptly called " St. Bartlemew's." Further particulars of this building are given during the reign of James 1., when George Craddock and William Brett, respondents in a suit in Chancery, say-" that tho' the King did give Sd burgesses for maintenance " of ye school lands tent" and heredts, yet he did not give them any school house, meaning that ye burgesses " shd provide a house out of Sd lands, &c., and being provided shd keep it in repair out of ye same. And they " have heard that ye burgesses having an old stone building with 3 ailes, they pulled down one aile to " repair the other two, and thereof made a school-house, wherein the scholars are yet instructed, and furnished "ye same with things necessary for a school-house, at ye cost of a great sum of money. That such a house " cannot be erected and furnished in these days for 500 merks." " in Plot's words, 'disturbed by some that envied his happiness,. removed into some desert mountainous places, where he ended his life, " , leaving Bethnei to others, who afterwards built it, and called it Stafford, there being a shallow place in the river hereabout, that " 'could easily be passed with the help of a staff only.' 'Now whereabout,' Plot continues, 'this desert place should be, that " , St.